Chapter 96: Three Thousand Taels of Silver!

“Lord Li, you truly are a dragon among men. Something like this, as expected, did not escape your eye…”

Master Dong shook his head with an unwilling laugh.

“Indeed! In those years, I truly did serve in the Qi County army, which is how I managed to survive the Fragrant Worship Cult’s pursuit.”

“Still, you may rest assured, Lord Li. After I left the Qi County army back then, I severed all ties with Prince Qi’s camp. What I am connected to now are only some low-ranking officers in that army.”

“With your insight, Lord Li, you should understand very well why I am now turning from the dark to the light.”

“So, I wonder whether you would be willing to lend me a hand?”

Li Yuanjing smiled but said nothing, sinking into deep thought.

In his previous life, he had long since understood a truth.

What was truly frightening was neither a lie nor the truth, but a mixture of truth and falsehood, with the two so cleverly entangled that the deceit still carried a convincing logic.

That was what left a person with no good choice, making mistakes all too easy when a decision had to be made.

And at this moment, Master Dong’s combination strike was precisely that sort of tactic.

More than that, it was no weak one.

On the surface, Master Dong spoke with righteous eloquence, claiming he had become a deadly enemy of the Fragrant Worship Cult and would not rest until it was utterly destroyed. But anyone who believed that was a fool.

By now, the Fragrant Worship Cult had long since infiltrated every corner of the surrounding region, including Fengcheng and Yicheng.

How could they possibly allow a man who had become their enemy to live so comfortably for so many years right under their noses, even providing weapons for them all the while?

Even if this was merely the darkest place beneath the lamp, could it really be so simple?

And if Master Dong already had Prince Qi as a great tree to lean on, why would he suddenly change allegiance and seek refuge under the banner of Young Marquis Zhang Zhiji?

But the matter had already reached this point, and Master Dong was clearly using this to pressure Li Yuanjing.

After all, Li Yuanjing now knew too much.

Faced with the almost bestial pressure that Master Dong had gathered around him, Li Yuanjing suddenly smiled.

“Master Dong, I can help you with this. But the remaining silver must be in hand before tonight. Conveniently, I also intend to go to the county seat tomorrow. Why not travel with me? I can recommend you in person before Young Marquis Zhang.”

“This…”

Master Dong had never expected Li Yuanjing to agree so readily, and he was momentarily stunned.

But his eyes rolled a few times, and he quickly recovered, hurrying to laugh and say, “In that case, Lord Li, it is a deal! Please wait a moment, I will return at once to gather the silver for you!”

…

Watching Master Dong leave in a flurry, leaving only a room full of silver behind, Li Yuanjing let out a long breath. In the depths of his gaze lay endless resolve.

Master Dong’s sudden display, like some bizarre shamanic performance, made it hard for Li Yuanjing to guess his true motive.

More importantly, he had dragged Li Yuanjing, who had never intended to get tangled up in these messy affairs, straight into the center of them.

Yet when one thought about it, this place where Li Yuanjing had been born stood right beneath the Fragrant Worship Cult’s watchful eye, deep in the heart of their influence. Was it really something he could avoid simply by wanting to?

Rather than being dragged in passively later, it was better to step into the game now and seize some initiative.

Besides, he might as well use this huge sacrifice Master Dong had made to speed up the growth of his own foundation.

After all, three thousand taels of silver was no small sum.

According to the records of the Great Qian Dynasty, that amount of silver was enough to build a medium-sized fortified settlement on the Nine Border Frontiers.

Even though those were prices from the reign of the founding emperor, and silver from overseas was now continuously flowing into Great Qian, causing its value to fall somewhat, it still retained formidable purchasing power.

Added to that were Li Yuanjing’s own savings, not to mention the fact that he would certainly earn even more money in the future. Taken together, it should be enough to transform Quanzi Village into a fortified settlement and train a number of elite troops.

There was another reason he had agreed to Master Dong.

He also wanted to muddy the waters in this so-called no-man’s-land and see just how deep they ran, and what kinds of big fish and turtles lurked within.

Otherwise, if matters continued in their current state, then even if Li Yuanjing was clever and had the advantage of knowledge from another age, even if he always kept to the strategy of keeping quiet while making a fortune, he would sooner or later be targeted by the big fish and turtles in these waters.

They would never wait until he had matured and gained the strength to resist before striking. They would certainly smash him flat while he was still in the fragile state of a strong infant.

As for moving elsewhere to develop?

That was clearly not something Li Yuanjing would consider.

First, matters had not yet worsened to that extent. Second, in this age of chaos and disorder, could changing locations really guarantee a better situation than Quanzi Village?

Do not be naive.

The laws of reality were right there: every radish had its own pit.

Moreover, that was simply Li Yuanjing’s nature. Since he had already firmly established himself in Quanzi Village, he would never easily admit defeat unless blood was drawn and steel crossed steel, until Li Yuanjing was beaten so hard he could no longer rise.

…

By evening, Master Dong personally delivered the remaining fifteen hundred taels of silver and made an arrangement with Li Yuanjing: early the next morning, they would enter the city together to pay respects to Young Marquis Zhang Zhiji.

By then, Li Yuanjing had already discussed matters with the old village head. The old man would take charge, recruiting laborers and craftsmen from the surrounding villages to accelerate the construction of Quanzi Village.

Even Liu Ben’s cousin, Liu Shuan, had returned.

After meeting him, Li Yuanjing had him gather his own people and first set up the framework for the brick kiln.

By the time Li Yuanjing finished dinner with Master Dong and escorted him back, the old village head had already recruited fifty or sixty craftsmen and strong laborers. They immediately began working through the night, turning all of Quanzi Village into what looked like a flourishing construction site.

After all, it was not the busy farming season. Even if the common people had saved a little grain through hardship to get through the New Year, how much would remain after paying all those heavy taxes and levies?

Now that there was a major project in Quanzi Village, who would not want to earn some extra money?

According to the old village head’s estimation, today was only the beginning. By tomorrow or the day after, if another two or three hundred people came, that would be nothing unusual at all.

“Heh heh, Lord Li truly has a grand hand. At the very least, if it were me, I could never do what you are doing, actually spending your own silver to help these poor wretches build a city wall.”

Li Yuanjing escorted Master Dong all the way to the north gate. Master Dong gave a dry laugh, his words carrying a trace of genuine feeling.

Li Yuanjing smiled.

“Master Dong, one can only say that everyone has their own ambitions.”

“The longer you know me, Li Yuanjing, the more you will understand. I do not have so many crooked thoughts. Whoever treats me well, I treat well in return.”

“This…”

Master Dong was immediately stunned. He seemed to want to say something, but for a moment he did not know how to begin.

Nearly a minute later, he finally recovered, hurriedly exchanged a few flattering words with Li Yuanjing, and took his leave.

Watching Master Dong and his twenty or thirty followers quickly disappear into the hazy snowy night, Li Yuanjing let out a long breath and suddenly grasped a crucial point.

That was this:

Why was it that both Wang Youdao before and Master Dong now were willing to pay large sums of money to have him, Li Yuanjing, handle matters?

Because neither Master Dong nor Wang Youdao could really be counted as a local powerholder. Master Dong might even be considered a rural magnate, but they were by no means true gentry-clan strongmen.

Do not underestimate the difference of just one word in the name. In reality, the gap was as vast as heaven and earth.

To put it plainly: as a local magnate, all you needed was money and men. But to be a gentry strongman, you had to be a scholar, and not just any scholar, but one with an official degree.

And one of the core foundations of the dynasty at its founding was this: sharing the realm with the scholars and gentry of the world.

Though Old Goodhearted Xue looked like a slovenly scoundrel, he did in fact hold the degree of a licentiate, which exempted him from a very large portion of taxes.

Whether he had truly earned it by exam or obtained it through crooked means did not matter; the influence it carried was no joke.

And although Li Yuanjing still had no degree of his own, even the leader of the Qi faction, Mu Rong Mubai, valued him so highly, and now Young Marquis Zhang Zhiji directly addressed Li Yuanjing as “Sir.”

Such influence was beyond the reach of the average licentiate, let alone the average graduate.

Within these ten or so nearby villages, aside from Li Yuanjing, only Old Goodhearted Xue Mang could really be counted as an influential scholar.

If they were going to seek someone, would they not rather choose Li Yuanjing, whose roots were shallower and easier to control, than Old Goodhearted Xue, famous for his skinning-the-poor reputation?

As he walked back while pondering these things, Li Yuanjing suddenly caught sight of a familiar slender figure.

At that moment, the slender figure also saw him. Her eyes lit up, and she hurried over respectfully to bow.

“This servant, Xiu Gu, greets the master…”

It was none other than Hou Wu’s wife, Xiu Gu, whom Li Yuanjing had not seen for quite some time.

But Xiu Gu was already vastly different from before.

In the past, Hou Wu had beaten and tormented her day after day. She had not been fed enough, nor kept warm enough, and had grown thin as a chick, her once-beautiful features withered away.

But now, ever since she had begun working in the weaving workshop, she not only ate her fill, but ate well, and keeping warm was no longer a problem.

After more than a month of recuperation, she had clearly put on flesh in her face and body. Her whole being had grown lively and fresh, and the gentle allure that should have belonged to her as a young married woman had gradually begun to bloom, full of vitality.

“Xiu Gu, are you not at work today? What are you headed out to do?”

Li Yuanjing asked with a smile.

Blushing, Xiu Gu hurriedly replied with deference, “Master, I, I still owe Aunt Liu three catties of grain at home. Since I’m resting today, I thought I’d take the chance to bring it to Aunt Liu.”

“That’s fine.”

Li Yuanjing smiled.

“All right, then go on with your business. Rest well, and do not delay work tomorrow.”

“Yes, Master.”

Xiu Gu nodded obediently, but just as Li Yuanjing was about to leave, she suddenly called out in alarm.

“Ma-Master…”

“What is it? Is there something else?”

Li Yuanjing frowned slightly.

“Master, Master, could you, could you come sit at my home for a while? I have something I want to tell you…”

Li Yuanjing slapped his forehead and suddenly remembered Xiu Gu’s daughter, Ya’er.

“All right. Lead the way.”

However, seeing the surrounding construction site bustling with people coming and going in a blaze of activity, Li Yuanjing suddenly had another thought. He beckoned to Kui Zi.

“Go tell the old village head that from this day forward, the night watch must be doubled. Absolutely do not let those outsider men wander freely into the village. Understand?”

“Ah, yes!”

Kui Zi immediately understood and hurried off to handle it.